A World Made of Tears
by BraveTears
Summary: Chihiro's on the run after her world has been torn apart... Read the story to find out what happens! M for mentions of death and blood, language, and maybe lemons in the future.


When had everything gone so wrong? No, that was a stupid question; I know when everything went to hell. This is _that man's_ fault. The real question is why? My whole life I've believed in karma, so what the hell did I do to deserve this? Or is karma just another lie? Like Haku's promise, I suppose. Stupid Haku… Stupid me for believing him!

In the distance I can hear them, now, the dogs that they, the supposed 'good guys' have set on me. They won't get me, though, even if I have to unleash my precious little white angels on them.

"CHIHIRO OGINO," The screech of a megaphone calls out to the forest in which I will find my refuge in. "SURRENDER NOW. WE HAVE THE AREA SURROUNDED."

I can't help but snort at that, "Tch, surrounded, hum? Yeah right, like hell you haughty bastards." I reach into my backpack and pull out a few slips of origami paper, just to be safe, as I continue my sprint down a path less traveled by but as memorized as my own name. This is a mockery of the so-called justice. I'm being chased through the back woods of my hometown in the middle of the night after having escaped my jail cell when I should be at home, in mourning. My parents are probably rolling in their very graves in this moment at the injustice of their innocent only daughter being pinned with the blame for their murder while the true criminal walks free and unharmed. This is such bullshit!

A piercing bark shakes me from my thoughts as I turn to see an Akita Police Dog lung for my raised arm. I can see its gleaming, vicious fangs in the dim light of the full moon and I know I only have a split second to act. I crumple in my crushing clutch the slips of paper with a scream, "Henkan **Shiki-hime**!"

In the instant that the dog's teeth rip into my arm the tiny, white slips of thin paper expand and morph into the shape a woman of pure white, the shape of one Tomoe Gozen that I had once seen in a history book. With her flashing naginata, she immediately sliced the dog in half as it let out its last shriek of pain and I felt my heart clench, for the poor dog was only doing as told. Pressing my bleeding arm to my chest I shoved the feeling down, I could mourn this later.

"Milady, you are injured." The artificial being spoke in faux concern, its eyes showing nothing but the black absence of a soul.

"I am fine. You are to accompany me to the entrance, understand?" I snarled in pain.

"Yes, Milady." It said, completely unaffected by my harsh tongue, and stood at attention.

I steadied myself and took a breath before continuing forward, "Kill anything that tries to attack me."

"Of course, Milady." It said. Had I realized just how red she would become I wouldn't have given the order.

By the time the entrance to the Spirit World came into view I was dizzy from the loss of blood and the Shiki-hime no longer showed a speck of white, the further down its body you searched the darker and blacker its form became. The forest was silent now, too, and the absence of dogs and the harsh commands of their officers reminded me of their unforgivable and cruel fate. I looked into the empty eyes of the Shiki-hime and in that moment I was glad that it had no soul, for I cannot imagine such a monstrous spirit.

"You are dismissed," I said as I choked back a gag, the stench of human blood becoming too much.

"It has been an honor, Milady." It said with a deep bow, before quickly dissolving into a mass of blood-soaked origami paper. I looked away in disgust and to the moon. In my mind's eye, hazy from the loss of blood and the gruesome events of the night, the moon had been dyed the same shade as the being of paper: blood red. I couldn't help it not matter how much I tried to stop myself, from imagining all the families that had just lost a son or daughter, a husband or wife, a father or mother. I couldn't stop myself from losing the contents of my prison dinner then, either, as the tears rolled down my face.

"Gods above this earth, forgive me for what has been done and what will be. But I must continue down this bloody path, for I cannot forgive the one who has done this to me. Mom, Dad, I'm so sorry, but your little girl is no longer the one you left behind." I said with my breath heavy in my lungs and eyes dried of my last tears. Looking down at my own blood splattered clothes and my bleeding arm, my nose wrinkled on its own accord. This was no way to appear when asking for a job. I dropped my backpack and stripped before taking out another set of clothes, similar to the ones I wore during my first trip, and a small sewing kit. I lit my finger with a small flame to heat the threaded needle before jabbing it into my torn skin without hesitation. I couldn't even feel a difference in pain. When I was finished I pulled out my last strips of paper and melded them together in the form of a bandage before wrapping my arm with it. I quickly slipped into the clothes as I threw the old ones into a bush and pulled out the last item from my backpack before discarding that as well. My mother's spell book passed down from the first witch of the Mei clan, my mother's family. I flipped through it quickly, realizing I didn't have forever before more officers showed up. This spell was a fairly simple one if you had the talent for transformation magic and enough will. Lucky me, my Paper Transformation Affinity is useful for more than just killing people and cheating on tests. My idea was to go for something a bit more traditional for what I am, as a witch that would mean dark robes, maybe even a hat. And so that's what I went for.

"Henkan!" My old clothes seemed to, well, _melt_ into the form I had pictured in my mind and soon I was dressed in black European style robes and a large floppy witch's hat on my head, the brim shielding most of my face. I stood tall then and released a sigh, gripping my book to my chest as I turned and took my firsts steps toward my second trip to the Spirit World.

I didn't even notice when the entrance disappeared.

"Is that a human?!" I can hear them whisper from behind their fancy little fans, their faces twisted in disgust.

"What's it doing her? And in such a plain sight?" A yuna whispers to her coworker.

"You there, stop!" Aogaeru the frog yells as he launches himself into my face. "You can't be here, you'll upset the guests!"

"I have business with Yubaba," I reply looking into the frogs eyes with a glare.

"Ha! Yubaba doesn't own the Bathhouse anymore, Master Kohaku does!" He laughs obnoxiously.

"Then I have business with _Kohaku_." I spit as I easily brush him aside and make my way to the side garden entrance.

Damn you Haku, you bastard. This is what you've been doing while I've been wasting my life waiting for you?! You bastard... I feel my anger dissipate; replaced by the same emptiness I first felt when I first realized that it had all been a lie. That I had wasted ten years of my life waiting for him… The same reoccurring feeling I've been having for the past year since that day that I realized that even then my heart still belonged to him.

With a start, I noticed that I was already at the bottom of the stairs and in front of the boiler room door. I sighed again, only for my head to spike with the pain of a headache. Damn you, Haku. I braced myself before opening the door and walking in. This time, the hissing pipes didn't make my flinch, and I didn't hesitate in walking up to him and getting his attention.

"Master Kamaji. Please give me a job." I spoke, my voice ringing over the noise of the room. The old spider flinched and turned to stare at me.

"I have enough laze-balls working for me, get out." He replied gruffly. I grinned under my hat, same old Kamaji.

"Please give me a job!" I said my old lines before adding a new twist.

Throwing my hand towards the soot-balls' 'home' and whispering, "Zairyou." In a flash, the coal shot through the air and into the furnace of the boiler.

"How? You're human." Kamaji questioned his eyes squinted and I smirked. The small servant's entrance door banged open and another familiar face climbed through. But before the happiness in my heart could swell her eyes landed on me and she sneered.

"You!"

"Me," I stated flatly, remembering quickly to stick to my plan.

"You've caused a lot of trouble today! The entire Bathhouse is scrambling looking for you!" She shouted at me, pointing an accusing finger.

"Stop yelling." I snapped at her, shoving away my memories of the woman I thought of as a sister.

"No! You—"

"Lin, stop. She's a witch." Kamaji stated and I could feel his stare on me. Lin's eyes widened, maybe in fear, and she took a step back.

"A witch? But she's a human!" She snarled, I could almost see her feathers fluffing out.

"Half human, but the strongest witch in my family in two centuries," I stated absently, choosing to ignore her attitude, for the most part. After a moment, Kamaji grumbled something to himself, which I couldn't quite catch.

"Young witch, I cannot give you a job, I recommend you speak to Haku about that." He sighed as one of his long spindly arms reaching up to scratch his head.

"Ah, how do I get to him?" I asked without missing a beat.

"Lin will take you." He said, to which Lin sneered at but complied, I could almost physically see her reluctance. Had she been this way before and I, being the child that I was, blind to it? When the door to the elevator closed she let out a loud cross between a sigh and a groan. I t was an interesting sound.

"So what's your name?" She questioned, quite reluctantly.

"I am Chiharu Mei," I spoke my new name without a stutter and without fear. Lin only grunted in reply. An overwhelming sense of Déjà Vu filled my mind the entire trip to the top of the Bathhouse, and though I hate to admit it I almost slipped up a few times and revealed myself to Lin. It's been eleven years and not a day has gone by that I have missed Lin. She was a reluctant mentor that became my friend and then sister and it pains me to not be able to tell her that Chihiro was back.

In the back of my mind, though, a dark part of me whispered that even if I did that no one care, that they probably forgot about me already.

Before I knew it the door to the office was before me and to my surprise, Lin was still by my side. Upon inspecting the door I noticed that Yubaba's talking door-knocker was gone like it was never there in the first place. Lin didn't bother knocking either, pushing the door open with a bang while dragging me behind her by my arm. It took a lot to not show my surprise and, to my disgust, happiness. Haku had grown into a handsome man, his eyes shone bright green and his silky hair hung long behind him. He looked up when we entered and for a moment my heart stopped with the fear that he would recognize me. I calmed myself when his gaze simply slid off me and onto Lin.

"Explain," Haku spoke, his voice deep and rich and I felt my heart skip a beat before sinking even further.

He doesn't love you like you love him, you stupid, stupid girl.

"Kamaji." Was the only response Haku got before she made a quick exit, the door slamming behind her. But when his gaze landed on me once again I was ready.

"I've come looking for work," I spoke plainly, my eyes glowing softly in the firelight under the brim of my hat. At my words, Haku sat straighter as he propped his arms up on his desk.

"What is your name?" He asked me. At his voice, my heart gave another damned squeeze and I berated myself at my own weakness.

"Chiharu Mei."

"Tell me, Chiharu Mei, why a human would come to the Spirit World for work."

"I no longer have a place in the Human World," I said as calmly as possible, my jaw tightening. This would be so much easier if Yubaba was the one I was dealing with. Haku's eye's flickered at that.

"I see."


End file.
